Incapable of honesty

A frank and refreshingly honest blog post comes from Oliver Norgrove, former media analyst at Vote Leave. That's what I admire the most in bloggers; self-awareness and integrity in ways our media cannot muster. Certainly not Alan Beattie of the FT. Norgrove gives us some indication as to the dishonesty at the heart of Vote Leave.

"By the time I was an employee at Vote Leave, I was still without any real knowledge of the EU's institutions and mechanisms, let alone trade and regulation (which are still every bit as mystifying to me). I remember around late April asking Matthew Elliott what the campaign's position on access to the single market was after leaving. He replied: 'we say that there is a free trade zone right across Europe, from Iceland to Istanbul, with no tariffs'. I suspected at the time that it wasn't nuanced or reflective of reality, but it sounded convincing so I was happy to go with it. The public, I thought, wouldn't be interested in reading about the different trading relationships that many of these countries had with the EU, so why not go with what sounded simplest?

This is in keeping with Dominic Cummings, who when quizzed by the economic affairs select committee attempted to deny we were even in the single market. Vote Leave was a singularly dishonest outfit from the very beginning. And that is so very typical of the breed. Elliott's brother in law, Allister Heath, sees no obstacle in effectively raiding our research, misrepresenting it and taking credit for it. Surprised he didn't end up at the FT. Says Heath:

The real reason why we – as a large and powerful economy – would have greater influence in EFTA than in the EU is that Brussels is increasingly not the place where big decisions take place. Rules are increasingly negotiated under the auspices of global bodies: automotive norms are determined by the World Forum for the Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations; food standards are determined by Codex Alimentarius; naval rules are under the aegis of the International Maritime Organisation; and the crucial new banking regulations are being determined by the Financial Stability Board. These regulations are then passed down, with the odd gold-plating, by the EU. These global bodies proceed by consensus, not qualified majority; we are currently represented by the EU at these meetings. A Brexit would allow us to have a seat at these top tables, and thus to disintermediate Brussels.

Quite obviously there is no other place this could have come from. The clue that Heath has no idea what he's talking about is the assertion that "naval rules" are under the aegis of the International Maritime Organisation. Naval? Pardon my French, but, for fucks sake!

The article itself was from before the referendum, but all the same, he was in a position to offer any one of the Brexit bloggers, who actually do know what they are talking about, a chance to make the argument. But that's actually not how these people operate. It's always been about preserving their little dung heap and reinforcing their dismal narratives - just as Alan Beattie has done in the FT. Self-serving parasites to a man.

We are constantly told more people would listen if only we were polite about them. It turns out they do listen - but only to the bits they want to hear. That's the basic problem. They are incapable of honesty, courtesy or decency. Why should we be polite to, or about them?